Agricultural implements such as planters for corn, soybeans, potatoes, and etc. are well known in the art. An example of such an implement is a 900 Series Planter manufactured and sold by J. I. Case Company of Racine, WI.
Most planter manufacturers provide an increased selection of planter sizes and styles to match a variety of tillage practices, acreages and terrains. Trailing rigid, mounted vertical fold and mounted rigid types of planters are available in 4, 6, 8 and 12 row narrow and wide versions. Each row unit on the planter prepares a seedbed environment conducive to fast germination and substantially uniform seedling emergence.
A conventional planter includes a frame with two or more carrying wheels depending upon the size of the frame. Each row unit is connected to the frame and typically includes a seed hopper, double disk openers for penetrating the soil and opening a seed trench whereinto a seed from the seed hopper is deposited, covering disks mounted behind the openers for returning soil to the seed trench, and a press wheel for sealing the closed seed trench and firming the furrow thereby substantially eliminating air pockets and promoting optimum seed germentation.
Each row unit may further include an apparatus for applying or dispensing a dry chemical granular material including fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, nematocides, and/or fungicides to the seedbed. Such an apparatus typically includes a chemical hopper mounted on the planter frame, a metering mechanism for controlling the flow rate of granular chemical material from the hopper, and one or more bander assemblies for distributing or dispensing the chemical granular material across a band. One bander assembly is normally arranged forwardly of the press wheel and a second bander assembly is normally arranged rearwardly of the press wheel in the direction of planter travel.
Preferably, the metering mechanism is variably adjustable to control the flow rate of the chemical granular material to the bander assemblies. In the case of corn, for example, an insecticide application rate as low as 3 pounds per acre can be used wherein a herbicide application may involve application rates of up to about 40 pounds per acre.
Notwithstanding the material flow rate thereto, the purpose of the bander assembly is to evenly distribute the chemical granular material across the entire band width. A typical bander assembly includes a housing which is fixed to the implement or planter frame and which defines a generally vertical flow path for the granular material. The housing on a typical bander assembly defines a throat section wherein the granular material is received and a distributor section connected downstream of the throat section.
The throat section is suitably connected as by flexible tubing or the like to the metering mechanism. The distributor section of the band assembly has a series of deflectors arranged therewithin for deflecting the chemical granular material into a wide band extending across an egress opening defined by the housing of the bander assembly. It is common for each bander assembly to have a band width extending between 9 and 14 inches.
A bander assembly typically works well when properly affixed to and the implement or planter is operated on substantially level or flat ground surfaces. Even distribution problems arise, however, when the orientation of the bander assembly inadvertently or otherwise shifts relative to a predetermined reference plane. Operation of the planter on inclined or sloped ground surfaces can also adversely effect performance of the bander assembly. When either or both of these conditions arise, the disbursement of granular material from the bander assembly narrows and is generally concentrated within a smaller band. As will be appreciated, a concentration of any one or more of the chemical materials mentioned above will detract from usefulness of the metering mechanism and, depending on the concentration, will destroy or inhibit seed germination.
During operation of the agricultural implement, inadvertent shifting of either or both bander assemblies is a typical occurrence. Moreover, the planter is not always operated on level ground. It will, therefore, be appreciated that there is both a need and a desire for a bander assembly which is not as sensitive to inadvertent displacement thereof relative to a predetermined plane or operation of the implement or planter on a hill or sloped incline.